Hooey History 1

What's the S.S. Palo Alto really made of?

The History Dude is certain that he's swimming against the current on this one, but it is annoying to hear the phrase "cement ship" when describing the S.S. Palo Alto that has been beached at Aptos since 1930. The phrase "cement ship" is wonderfully alliterative and easy to say, but it is incorrect when describing that particular ship.

The S.S. Palo Alto is a CONCRETE SHIP!(Forgive my shouting…)

Cement is the powdered binding agent that, when mixed with water and aggregate forms concrete. Cement was one of the ingredients that went into making the concrete that formed the hull of the S.S. Palo Alto.

Some sacks of cement.

When the mixture of cement, aggregate and water dries, it becomes concrete.

Why did they make a ship out of concrete?The S.S. Palo Alto was an oil tanker built during World War I on the east side of San Francisco Bay. The loss of many ships to German submarines and the high price of steel combined to make concrete ships feasible. Despite the fact that the construction of the ship went very quickly, World War I ended before the S.S. Palo Alto could be put into service.

The S.S. Palo Alto's concrete recipe.The ship was made from cement manufactured in the Santa Cruz Portland Cement company plant in Davenport. The specifications:1 part Portland cement2 parts aggregate (1/3 sand; 2/3 gravel)1 part water

A concrete sculpture at Davenport, the place where they make cement.

The S.S. Palo Alto Vital Statistics

Date of commission: October 1920

Length: 434 feet

Power: 2,800 horsepower steam engine

Tonnage: 6,144 tons

Capacity: 1,300,000 gallons of oil

Original cost of construction: $1,500,000

Original owner: United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation.

In January 1930 the ship was purchased by a corporation intending to use her as the focal point of their coastal development known as Seacliff. Their timing was very bad, however, and the ever-tightening tentacles of the Great Depression eventually strangled that plan and in 1932 the company collapsed. In 1936 the State of California purchased the ship for $1 and added it to Seacliff State Beach.

The S.S. Palo Alto during her days as an oceanside amusement center.

Periodic storms have hammered the ship and the pier, but despite her trials and tribulations, the S.S. Palo Alto appears to be moving through the waves even though she's going absolutely nowhere.

Important dates in the history of the S.S. Palo Alto

1918 – May 19 – ship was christened and launched at Alameda

1918 - November 11– Armistice signed ending World War I

1920 – October 20 – ship is commissioned

1921 – January 2 – First and only voyage under power across San Francisco Bay

1921 - Was towed to moth ball berth at Benicia

1924 - November - Sold for $18,750 to Oliver J. Colson Co., for oil storage Later sold to Oakland machinery dealer, R.C. Porter

1929 – Sold to Seacliff Amusement Corporation for unknown amount of $

1929 – October 29 – Stock Market Crash

1930 - January 21-22 – Towed from Oakland to Seacliff

1930 - January 25 – Intentionally sunk off the end of pier at Seacliff

1930 - June 21 – Grand opening

1931-32 – Winter storms crack the ship's hull.

1932 – August – First parcel of beach property acquired by State of California